What would we do without the internet? We can research places we are going
to, providing we have a connection of some sort and keep in touch with friends
and family. In the Bahamas that means finding a BTC office in the locality to
buy new Sim cards for the phone and data stick we use for our communications
home and for posting our blogs onto the internet. It usually works, but not
always as we have to change settings that enabled us to do the same in the USA
otherwise nothing works. That achieved we can explore the vicinity and write
about what we see.

Well, one of the first things we saw here in Great Harbour Cay was a bush
fire. And it was too damn close for comfort. It started around 0130 in the
morning of the first night in the marina. We had only just remarked that it was
good to escape the perpetual noise of sirens in the USA. Barely an hour goes by
without hearing the things. One of the wonderful attributes the Bahamas has is
peace and solitude. Until we were awoken at 0130 by.....a siren, which started
in the distance and advanced closer and closer to the marina. Police maybe, or
ambulance? Then our noses were assailed by the acrid fumes of burning wood. Well
it wasn’t the marina as that’s made of concrete, but there’s no shortage of wood
nearby and some of it was on fire. So it was the fire brigade.

Fire! fire! fetch the engine, fetch the engine, pour on water,
pour on water – a song from our school days comes to
mind.

Later that morning the smoke was still rising out of the foliage near the
road into town. We were downwind of the fire meaning that we then had to close
all our hatches as the air became full of charred flakes of wood that were being
blown towards us. That turned below into a sauna. The wind was on the increase
which didn’t help matters and we could now see flames in the foliage with the
fire definitely spreading downwind. The situation didn’t look great although we
at least could cast off our lines and escape out into the anchorage where we’d
spent the first night. One of the apartment residents with a boat at his dock
did exactly that whilst we kept an eye on the situation. By the afternoon the
firefighters seemed to have contained the fire. To put things into perspective,
there is one engine and a distinct lack of hydrants so water barrels have to be
filled and taken to the scene. It was still smoldering yesterday but the worst
is hopefully over.

As mentioned before one of the issues we’ve had in leaving later this
season is that we had consumed all the propane cooking gas we keep in our
English gas bottles. Unfortunately, with regulations much tighter in the USA we
were unable to have them refilled before leaving and they were both empty. We
were kindly lent a small USA bottle by one of the marina workers which we filled
and refilled before leaving Titusville. We were halfway through this bottle on
arrival in Great Harbour Cay only to find that there is no way of refilling this
bottle or either of our English bottles here on the island. All empties have to
be sent to Nassau on the weekly mail boat. Well, it’s weekly for three weeks a
month and it then misses a week and you can guess which week it’s missing this
month. So, no chance of propane gas here. But the gods were smiling on us in the
shape of our cruising friends Tom & Chris in their ‘new this season to them’
Morgan 41. They were heading back to the States early and had a spare full
bottle which we negotiated a deal on involving the on-site restaurant and bar
and we were in the gas again. However, we are now awash with gas bottles
onboard. One full, one half full and two empty which we must get filled
somewhere or the whole scenario will start again next season!

Also paying a fleeting visit to the marina were other friends we hadn’t
seen for some time. We naturally all congregated for drinks on the Morgan with
it’s huge cockpit and then attended the cruisers pot luck evening organised by
the marina. It was great to catch up with them all, if only briefly before they
set sail back to Florida.

‘Skip’ daring to sit next to a hairdresser of all people – yes
the joke was about the hair of course............cruisers and food – we
love it!

Finally having a chance to escape the Marina we took the road to the beach
about a mile away on a hot sunny afternoon. First stop was the ruins of the
famous club that was built in the sixties and was frequented (as local history
reports, and on the internet of course) by the likes of Cary Grant, The Rat
Pack, Brigitte Bardot to name a few. Right next to the club an 18 hole golf
course was constructed and attended by the likes of Jack Nicklaus who also used
the exclusive club. The marina was part of the same prestigious construction
programme from that time and it seems to have faired better than the club or the
golf course if the quality of the grass is anything to go by. The former club
with collapsed roof structures and overgrown with trees and shrubs is right by
the roadside. As we all know nature always reclaims what you take from it in the
end. With typical construction materials of the period namely concrete it can
still be viewed in relative safety without fear of the floor collapsing from
under you. It was certainly a large building and if you let your imagination run
a little, well, you could be back there with those famous celebrities enjoying
what was at the time a very exclusive club on an equally exclusive island
destination. Somebody mentioned that if you explore deeper into one of the dark
spaces there are a zillion bats hanging around in there – Err No Thanks.

Approaching the club ruins from the
marina
‘Admiral’ at the entrance

The staircase that lead to the
bar
we never did get
served
This looked like one of the bedrooms with panoramic balcony

... the bridge leads to the golf course with a backwards glance to the club
ruins

Goodness knows what the par for the course is now –
probably into three figures Still
smoldering from the fire the ruins of one of the lodges c/w bath that were built
along the ridge overlooking the marina. The metal posts supported the wooden
floors that are long since gone

We finally made the beach but the road there wasn’t without it’s humorous
points of interest...........

We didn’t see a single one they are all in golf carts these
days
Lots of big wooden poles a specialty - not sure where this project was going –
upwards we guess

It’s seven miles long and we didn’t walk the whole length of the beach in
that heat. We stopped for beers at the beach club with views into the distance.
The colours of course astounding as they most often are in the Bahamas.

We never tire of the wonderful Bahamas beaches – but they take
a lot of walking!

Beers consumed it was off walking about two miles to the end where there
was a deeper pool of water surrounded by shallow sand banks with the tide still
out. ‘Skip’ took to the water to cool off for a few minutes in his underwear
(which could be mistaken for Speedos from a distance - seven miles of beach –
only three other people on it for goodness sake!) but then had a painful
re-union with his shorts where a couple of burrs that had caught in his shoe
laces had found their way into the posterior section of his net bag when passing
by the shoe laces! Ouch! (The‘Admiral’ to the rescue – thankfully).

He just couldn’t resist the temptation to get in there for a
first swim

On the way back we were offered a lift by a kind lady in a golf cart who
was heading in the direction of the marina. We sat in the back seat as her Rat
Terrier occupied the remaining front seat and didn’t look the sort of dog to
allow some tangle-haired hobbledehoy clutching wet underwear anywhere near it’s
owner. So the two of us enjoyed the two mile buggy ride staring into the dog’s
backside. We were grateful of the lift back even if the cart lurched dangerously
near the edge of the road whenever the lady leaned round to talk with us! Maybe
the dog was trained to bark a warning at the last second before impending
doom.

Next time we’ll be going into town to search for eggs. Always an
adventure!